"I'm playing Smaug, I mean I'm physicalising him as a dragon I'm not just doing the voiceover, so it'll be a physical role which I'm no stranger to," he said. "I did Frankenstein at the beginning of the year with Danny Boyle at the National Theatre and playing the creature in that was a very full-on and sort of corporeal experience."

Cumberbatch noted that he will begin work on The Hobbit early in 2012.

"I can't wait, but the conversations have yet to start really in earnest because they've been doing the first film and I've been doing the second series of Sherlock and another series which I'm working on now called Parade's End for HBO and BBC with Tom Stoppard, and Rebecca Hall co-starring," he commented.

"I've already started working out and doing various movement exercises to get myself limber for that all-important jump suit with balls on it, otherwise known as motion-capture. But I can't wait, I'm really excited. I go to film it in January."